Industry Committee on May 7th, 2020

[Steve Arnold]

You're absolutely right. Some of the larger corporations don't want to bother. We've dealt with TekSavvy, and even they struggle at times with being able to provide service for some of the smaller communities that we have. We've allowed all kinds of communication devices to be put on water towers wherever we can. We went through an exercise whereby we were volunteering to pay towards having it put in. Even $8,500 per residence wasn't enough to cover the cost.

The model is exactly as you said. You have to have a profit model there somewhere. These large corporations don't want to be bothered with small places where they're not going to be able to turn any type of profit for a number of years.

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Markham—Stouffville, ON]

Thank you.

Ms. Tribe, you've talked about your three priorities for action, mandating a basic Internet package and so on. How do you deal with the reality that Mayor Arnold has just described? How do we make the connectivity happen?

[Laura Tribe]

That's the point I was getting at around the money. It sounds so silly to keep coming back to it, but that's why the current approach hasn't worked: because it has been waiting for companies to do it themselves, and they have been so reliant on what would be profitable.

As we've all agreed on this call, the Internet is essential. Everyone needs it. If it's essential, that's where the government needs to step in. It sounds so easy when I say it that way, but it's hard because it's a lot of money. Hearing Mayor Arnold talk about what that costs for each home, that makes a really big difference in the lives of the people who live in that house. The larger companies in particular have really put an amount on the dollars they can get back. That's why this does require the government to step in. If we don't put forward a plan that will subsidize that to make sure those families know they matter.... Those companies don't because it's not profitable.

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Markham—Stouffville, ON]

But when government procures a service from a provider, it obviously asks for a proposal from as many people as are interested. The government then analyzes those particular proposals, and of course looks to price. Are you suggesting that to ensure connectivity in rural Canada the government goes through a normal procurement process? How exactly would it work?

[Laura Tribe]

I think there are a number of models the government has already used for applications for funding. They have frequently led to the same providers receiving the money. They've actually, I think, in some cases for the incumbents, learned to not invest until the government is willing to subsidize them.

When we're looking at these rural areas in particular, the number one thing the government should look at is who is already there. Who's already serving those communities? They're the ones who have invested in those areas and they are the ones who are going to be around long after the government funding is gone.

[Helena Jaczek, Liberal, Markham—Stouffville, ON]

My time is up.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Mr. Savard-Tremblay, you now have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Good evening.

My question is for Ms. Tribe.

Ms. Tribe, you spoke earlier about the idea of nationalizing the network.

[Laura Tribe]

Sorry but I just need to interrupt for one second.

The translation is not working on my stream. I apologize. My French is so poor I would not be able to understand anything.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

It isn't your fault.

[Laura Tribe]

There's no translation service. There's no ability to switch languages on my Zoom.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Just a moment, we'll check.

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Madam Tribe, could you check on the bottom to see if you have the little globe for interpretation?

[Laura Tribe]

No, I'm sorry. I emailed as well. There is no ability to flip that I can find.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Mr. Savard-Tremblay, I stopped the clock.

[The Clerk of the Committee, Mr. Michael MacPherson]

Good evening, Ms. Tribe.

Could you just tell us what device you're using, please?

Thank you.

[Laura Tribe]

Yes, it's a MacBook.

[The Clerk]

Okay. Then you might have a three dots at the top of your screen. Can you could check for that?

There are no options at all on your screen?

[Laura Tribe]

No, I apologize.

I've been looking for it for the whole meeting. I can't find any option for it.

[The Clerk]

We're just going to ask for some help from the technician in the room. Just one moment please. Thanks.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Madam Chair, in the meantime, I want to clarify something. I see that the clock is ticking. We must be able to complete the third round, as requested by the steering committee of this committee. It would be really sad if, because of an interpretation issue, 5 p.m comes around and Mr. Masse and I don't have time to finish our third round.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

Rest assured that we'll complete the third rounds. We want to make sure that the witnesses can also take part in the meeting.

[Sébastien Lemire, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Absolutely. It's essential.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Sherry Romanado]

I'm just going to suspend the meeting for a moment so that we can have the technician work on the translation problem.